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Iowa vs. Michigan State Fun Facts: Finally, the Hawkeyes are returning to East Lansing!
Did you know: Lansing is almost halfway between Iowa City and East Lansing? Well, it is, and it’s a Fun Fact!
Oct. 16, 2024 8:13 pm, Updated: Oct. 17, 2024 10:48 am
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This is Iowa’s first game at Michigan State since 2017. They are in the same conference. That means several Hawkeye players who recently graduated never got to experience East Lansing. Life isn’t fair.
Now, on with this week’s Fun Facts:
1. This is the 50th meeting between the two teams.
2. Michigan State was 11-2 in 2021. It is 12-18 since.
3. The Spartans outgained Iowa by 127 yards last year in Iowa City, but lost 26-16.
4. That is the only 26-16 score of the 1,312 football games Iowa has played.
5. Michigan State hasn’t played a day game since Sept. 14, and will play Michigan at night next Saturday.
6. The Spartans have had just two seasons better than 7-6 since they beat Iowa in the 2015 Big Ten championship game.
7. Against Iowa last week in the Hawkeyes’ 40-16 win, Washington had season lows in points and yards per play, and had season highs in points allowed, yards per play allowed and turnovers.
8. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz has the longest tenure at one school of any FBS head coach, 26 seasons. Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith is tied for the shortest tenure at one season.
9. Smith passed for 9,680 yards and 55 touchdowns at Oregon State from 1998-2001. He coached the Beavers to an 18-7 record over the last two years before changing jobs.
10. Michigan State’s Ryan Eckley has 10 punts of 50-plus yards this season and averages 48 yards. MSU kicker Jonathan Kim has made all nine of his field goal tries. He made a Kinnick Stadium-record 58-yarder last year.
11. Fewer penalties (44) have been called in Iowa’s games than those of any other team in the country. Iowa has a national-low 16 penalties and a nation-low 25.8 penalty yards per game. Hawkeye opponents have been penalized 28 times.
12. Michigan State is 95th in the nation in passing efficiency, Iowa 105th.
13. Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson averages 33 more rushing yards per game than anyone else in the Big Ten. He leads the nation in rushes of 20-plus yards with 16 and is tied for second in rushes of 50-plus yards with 3.
14. Michigan State had 38 players transfer out from last year’s team and 24 transfer into its program, including players from six different Big Ten schools.
15. Iowa’s Kaden Wetjen is second in the Big Ten in kickoff-return average and fifth in punt-return average.
16. The Spartans have a sixth-year offensive lineman named Tanner Miller who was first-team All Pac-12 last year. Iowa had a defensive back named Tanner Miller from 2010-2013.
17. Army and Navy are ranked at the same time for the first time since early in the 1960 season, when Iowa was ranked No. 3.
18. Iowa is tied for fourth place in the Big Ten at 2-1. It also is tied for ninth.
19. Lansing, Ill. is almost exactly halfway between Iowa City and East Lansing, Mich. It’s 227 miles from Iowa City, and 202 miles from East Lansing.
20. The slogan of Lansing, Iowa is “Where Main Street Meets the Mississippi.” It’s a fact. You can drive down Main Street and end up in the big river. There is a “Dead End” sign to warn drivers before the street turns into a launching spot for boats.
Comments: mike.hlas@thegazette.com
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